Trump Treasury Secretary nominee Scott Bessent on Thursday said he does not support raising the federal minimum wage.
“I believe that the minimum wage is more of a statewide and regional issue,” Bessent said during his confirmation hearing before the Senate Finance Committee.
“You don’t think we should change the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour?” Sen. Bernie Sanders, an independent from Vermont, asked Bessent.
“No, sir,” the billionaire hedge fund manager responded.
Many states have turned to ballot measures as the federal minimum wage has remained at $7.25 since 2009. But such efforts had mixed results in 2024: Massachusetts voters rejected a measure to require employers to gradually increase tipped workers’ minimum wages, while Alaska and Missouri voters backed hikes to bring their workers’ minimum wages to $15 an hour.
In the largest state, California, voters rejected a proposition that would have upped the state minimum wage to $18 an hour, the highest in the United States. California’s minimum wage remains $16 an hour, with variations such as $20 per hour for fast food workers and a gradual increase to $25 an hour for health care workers over the next decade. Supporters, such as labor unions, argued the increase would have helped about 2 million workers.
